Opinion: The crusade for ‘religious liberty’ will reverberate badly in health care

Not that long ago, there was little difference between a physician and a preacher, a clinic and a chapel, a patient and a proselyte. Instead of prescribing medications, healers chanted hymns; instead of prescribing painkillers, they offered prayers.

Faith remains an integral part of human society and the modern hospital is a place where patients and physicians of all faiths work together. I am a Muslim physician who trained at a Boston hospital formed because none of the other local hospitals would offer Jewish doctors a job. On any given day, I see patients from myriad faiths, not to mention cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations.

I worry that the Trump administration is turning that directs federal agencies to give individuals and organizations great freedom to act — or refuse action — if they believe it impinges on their freedom of religious expression. This builds on the Department of Health and Human Services creating a , making it easier for doctors and nurses to refuse to treat patients based on religious or cultural objections.